Introduction: Invisible Monsters
Noah Leigh, interview with the author, McDonald’s in West Allis, Wisconsin, January 18, 2014.
1. The Monster Hunter and His Museum
Loren Coleman, interview with the author and tour, International Cryptozoology Museum, Portland, Maine, September 25, 2013.
Course materials for Cryptozoology 101 class, Universal Class, last accessed July 24, 2013, www.universalclass.com/i/crn/7550037.htm.
Loren Coleman, “Top Cryptozoology Stories of 2013,” CryptoZooNews (blog), December 18, 2013, www.cryptozoonews.com/top-cz-2013/.
NPR, “The Kraken is Real: Scientist Films First Footage of a Giant Squid,” All Things Considered, January 13, 2013, www.npr.org/2013/01/13/169274472/the-kraken-is-real-scientist-films-first-footage-of-a-giant-squid.
Loren Coleman, Tom Slick: True Life Encounters in Cryptozoology (Fresno, CA: Craven Street Books, 2002).
“The Yeti,” episode of Unsolved Mysteries, NBC, aired February 12, 1992.
Loren Coleman, Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America (New York: Paraview Pocket Books, 2003).
Loren Coleman, “About Me,” Twilight Language (blog), last accessed November 17, 2014, http://copycateffect.blogspot.com/.
Loren Coleman, “A Near Death Experience,” Cryptomundo (blog), September 25, 2007, http://cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/near-death/.
PIM investigation of Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 6, 2013.
PIM case report #110909 (Riverside Theater, September 9, 2011), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/riverside/riverside.html.
PIM case report #111203 (Riverside Theater, December 3, 2011), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/riverside2/riverside2.html.
PIM case report #120218 (Riverside Theater, February 18, 2012), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/riverside3/riverside3.html.
PIM case report #120323 (Riverside Theater, March 23, 2012), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/riversideclass/riversideclass.html.
Jann Goldberg, interview with the author, Colectivo coffee shop in Bay View, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, October 23, 2013.
PIM case report #130525 (Willow Creek Farm, May 24–26, 2013), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/willowcreek5/willowcreek5.html.
PIM case report #090306 (Willow Creek Farm, March 6–7, 2009), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/011_willow_creek/.
Noah Leigh, presentation at Milwaukee Public Museum, October 10, 2013.
Noah Leigh, interview with the author, McDonald’s in West Allis, Wisconsin, January 18, 2014.
Noah Leigh, follow-up interview with the author, Leigh’s home, West Allis, Wisconsin, June 19, 2014.
PIM investigation of Brumder Mansion, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, November 9, 2013.
Sherry Strub, Milwaukee Ghosts (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, 2008).
3. The Slaying of the Chupacabras
Sharon Hill, interview with the author via Skype, January 9, 2014.
Sharon Hill, “Being Scientifical: Popularity, Purpose and Promotion of Amateur Research and Investigation Groups in the U.S.,” thesis paper e-mailed to the author.
Center for Inquiry Portland newsletter, December 2013.
J. Jason Groschopf, interview with the author via Facebook, June 9, 2014.
Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark, Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature (New York: Fireside, 1999).
Benjamin Radford, Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2011).
Benjamin Radford, Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries (Corrales, NM: Rhombus Publishing Company, 2010).
Benjamin Radford, interview with the author via Skype, June 16, 2014.
“Texas Chupacabra Captured, Family Says,” Fox 8 News, April 3, 2014, http://myfox8.com/2014/04/03/texas-couple-claims-they-have-captured-a-chupacabra/.
Nicole Hensley, “Texas Captors Euthanize Alleged Chupacabra Dubbed ‘Chupie,’” New York Daily News, April 4, 2014, www.nydailynews.com/news/national/texas-captors-euthanize-alleged-chupacabra-article-1.1745980.
Loren Coleman, follow-up interview with the author via e-mail, July 3, 2014.
Sharon Hill and Barbara Drescher, “I Doubt That—the Media Guide to Skepticism,” speech to the James Randi Educational Foundation, video posted to YouTube by JamesRandiFoundation, January 6, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybKMv_nvBjo.
4. Lake Monster Fever
Champ Camp, Button Bay State Park, Vermont, July 25–28, 2013.
Robert E. Bartholomew, The Untold Story of Champ: A Social History of America’s Loch Ness Monster (Albany, NY: Excelsior/State University of New York Press, 2012).
Believe It Tour, “Tour of the Crystal Skull 2012,” official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.believeittour.com/crystal-skull/.
Believe It Tour, “Old Haunts Transylvania,” official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.believeittour.com/old-haunts-transylvania/.
Loren Coleman, “How Many Champ Sightings for 2013?” CryptoZooNews (blog), July 23, 2013, www.cryptozoonews.com/champ2013/.
Joseph W. Zarzynski, Champ: Beyond the Legend (Port Henry, NY, Bannister Publications, 1984).
Benjamin Radford and Joe Nickell, Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World’s Most Elusive Creatures (Lexington, KY: The University Press of Kentucky, 2006).
“America’s Loch Ness Monster,” episode of MonsterQuest, History Channel, aired October 31, 2007.
5. What Was That?
PIM walk-through of the “Smiths’” apartment, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 26, 2013.
Noah Leigh, interview with the author, McDonald’s in West Allis, Wisconsin, January 18, 2014.
John Krahn, interview with the author during investigation at Bobby Mackey’s Music World, Wilder, Kentucky, September 22, 2013.
PIM walk-through of “José and Maria’s” townhouse, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, January 8, 2014.
Michael “Gravy” Graeve, interview with the author, Einstein Bros. Bagels East Side location, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 23, 2014.
PIM holiday party at the Jock Stop, West Allis, Wisconsin, January 11, 2014.
PIM investigation of Sarah’s residence, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 1, 2014.
PIM case report #140201 (private residence, February 1, 2014), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/milwaukeeresidential/milwaukeeresidential.html.
PIM, “Paranormal 101: Types of Hauntings,” official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/paranormal101.html.
PIM investigation of “poltergeist” at private residence, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, April 11, 2014.
PIM case report #140411 (private residence, April 11, 2014), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/wauwatosaresidence/wauwatosaresidence.html.
PIM meeting, recorded April 27, 2014.
6. International UFO Congress
“Obama’s New Advisor Is a UFO Enthusiast,” episode 65 of Spacing Out!, Open Minds, released December 20, 2013, www.openminds.tv/obamas-new-advisor-ufo-enthusiast-spacing-episode-65/25495.
Jason McClellan, interview with the author via e-mail, June 17, 2014.
Maureen Elsberry, interview with the author via e-mail, August 7, 2014.
Twenty-Third Annual International UFO Congress, Fountain Hills, Arizona, February 12–16, 2014.
Jason P. Woodbury, “Phoenix’s UFO Congress Probes What Believers Insist Comes from ‘Above,’” Phoenix New Times, February 27, 2014, www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2014-02-27/news/phoenix-s-international-ufo-congress/full/.
The Roswell Project (documentary short), directed by Dennis Freyermuth, 2014.
“Secure Medical CEO John Rao Joins Histogen Board of Directors,” Newswire Today, May 9, 2008, www.newswiretoday.com/news/33940/.
John B. Alexander, UFOs: Myths, Conspiracies, and Realities (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2012).
Emily Swanson, “Alien Poll Finds Half of Americans Think Extraterrestrial Life Exists,” Huffington Post, June 21, 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/alien-poll_n_3473852.html.
7. The Terror and Subsequent Pride of Point Pleasant
Mothman Festival, Point Pleasant, West Virginia, September 21, 2013.
John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies (New York: Tor, 2002).
Jeff Wamsley and Donnie Sergent Jr., Mothman: The Facts Behind the Legend (Point Pleasant, WV: Mothman Press, 2002).
Jeff Wamsley, Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes (Point Pleasant, WV: Mothman Press, 2005).
Jeff Wamsley, interview with the author by phone, March 25, 2014.
Roger Ebert, review of “The Mothman Prophecies,” Chicago Sun-Times, January 25, 2002, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-mothman-prophecies-2002.
John C. Sherwood, “Gray Barker’s Book of Bunk Mothman, Saucers, and MIB,” Skeptical Inquirer 26, no. 3 (May/June 2002): www.csicop.org/si/show/gray_barkers_book_of_bunk_mothman_saucers_and_mib/.
Loren Coleman, Mothman and Other Curious Encounters (New York: Paraview Press, 2002).
Lyle Blackburn, The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster (San Antonio: Anomalist Books, 2012).
Loren Coleman, interview with the author, International Cryptozoology Museum, Portland, Maine, September 25, 2013.
“Mothman of Mason County,” episode of Mountain Monsters, Destination America, aired July 20, 2013.
8. Drama with the Dead, Problems with the Living
RIP Midwest excursion to Bachelors Grove Cemetery, Bremen Township, Illinois, July 19, 2014.
Peter Crapia, “Bachelors Grove & Paranormal Activity,” bachelorsgrove.net, October 14, 2011, www.bachelorsgrove.net/bachelors-grove-paranormal-activity.html.
Cindi Muntz, interview with the author by phone, January 5, 2014.
RIP Midwest, “Services,” official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.ripmidwest.com/services.php.
Episode of The Malliard Report (Internet radio show), aired June 11, 2013.
Noah Leigh, interview with the author, McDonald’s in West Allis, Wisconsin, January 18, 2014.
Noah Leigh, course material for Paranormal Investigation 102 class, taught through the West Allis Recreation Department, West Allis, Wisconsin.
John Krahn, Facebook message to the author, August 5, 2014.
William Kalush and Larry Sloman, The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero (New York: Atria Books, 2006).
“Mrs. X,” interview with the author, Colectivo coffee shop in Bay View, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 17, 2014.
9. Squishes
Loren Coleman, Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America (New York: Paraview Pocket Books, 2003).
Loren Coleman, interview with the author, International Cryptozoology Museum, Portland, Maine, September 25, 2013.
Robert Sullivan, “The Men Who Dream of Bigfoot,” Outside, February 12, 2014, www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/science/In-Search-of-Bigfoot-Hunters.html.
BFRO, “About the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO),” official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.bfro.net/ref/aboutbfr.asp.
Matt Moneymaker, e-mail to the author, June 11, 2013.
BFRO investigation at Isabella farm, Isabella County, Michigan, July 8–11, 2014.
“Bigfoot and Wolverines,” episode of Finding Bigfoot, Animal Planet, aired December 16, 2012.
“Super Yooper Sasquatch,” episode of Finding Bigfoot, Animal Planet, aired January 19, 2014.
Sharon Hill, interview with the author via Skype, January 9, 2014.
Jim Harding, interview with the author via e-mail, February 27, 2014.
Benjamin Radford, interview with the author via Skype, June 16, 2014.
10. We Come to Whup Demons
Rev. Bob Larson, Curse Breaking Seminar at the Rosemont Hilton, Rosemont, Illinois, May 9, 2014.
Pricing and other details are from Larson’s official website, www.boblarson.org.
“About Us: Brynne Larson,” Teenage Exorcists, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.teenageexorcists.com/brynne-larson/.
The Demon of Hate Didn’t Have a Chance with Exorcist Bob Larson!, video posted to Bob Larson’s official YouTube channel, April 13, 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT1b0o47JoQ.
Bob Larson Faces Jezebel and Lucifer Head On!, video posted to Bob Larson’s official YouTube channel, March 16, 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WI9KcLl1Nk.
Kristen Bialik, “The Church of Satan Interviewed by Televangelist Bob Larson: Not the Conversation You Think It Is,” Huffington Post, May 25, 2012, www.huffingtonpost.com/network-awesome/church-of-satan-interviewed-by-televangelist-bob-larson_b_1543751.html.
Local news report on Bob Larson, Fox 6 San Diego, video posted to YouTube by Mark Bunker as “Bob Larson Exposed,” December 30, 2006, www.youtube.com/watch?v=75TsvDIzIZc.
Father Jack Ashcraft, interview with the author via e-mail, September 4, 2013.
Father Jack Ashcraft, “Bob Larson: The Unreal Exorcist,” Bare Fisted Cleric (blog), January 6, 2012, www.trueexorcist.com/2012/01/bob-larson-unreal-exorcist.html.
11. Somethin’ Skunky
Campout at the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters & Trail Lakes Campground, Ochopee, Florida, September 27–29, 2013.
Loren Coleman and Jerome Clark, Cryptozoology A to Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature (New York: Fireside, 1999).
Loren Coleman, Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America (New York: Paraview Pocket Books, 2003).
Escape to Dreamland: The Story of the Tamiami Trail, directed by Timothy Long, PBS, 2008.
Michael McCormack, “Skunk Ape: Shealy Claims to Have New Photos of Elusive Legend,” Naples Daily News, September 12, 1998.
Ralph Kircher, “Dave Shealy: On the Trails of a Skunk Ape,” Naples Daily News, September 5, 1999.
Dave Shealy, Everglades Skunk Ape Research Field Guide (no publication info listed).
Loren Coleman, interview with the author, International Cryptozoology Museum, Portland, Maine, September 25, 2013.
Forum poster “maxhile,” “Skunkape Is a Fraud, and I’m a Witness!” thread posted at Above Top Secret, November 2, 2010, www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread626008/pg1.
Forum poster “Stocking Hominid Research, Inc.,” forum thread “Dave Shealy Hoaxes” posted at Mid-America Bigfoot Research Center official website, December 25, 2010, http://mid-americabigfoot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2677&start=0 (site no longer available).
Matthew Moneymaker, “The 2008 Dead Bigfoot Hoax from Georgia,” BFRO official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.bfro.net/hoax.asp.
Lee Spiegel, “Bigfoot Hunter Rick Dyer Confesses Again to Duping the Public,” Huffington Post, April 4, 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/04/bigfoot-hoax-rick-dyer-confesses_n_5079861.html.
Guy Edwards, “$60,000 Later Rick Dyer Admits to Hoax,” Bigfoot Lunch Club (blog), May 27, 2014, www.bigfootlunchclub.com/2014/05/60000-later-rick-dyer-admits-to-hoax.html.
Loren Coleman, “Hank Hoax Dies: Bizarre Details Revealed in HuffPost Investigation,” CryptoZooNews (blog), April 5, 2014, www.cryptozoonews.com/hank-dies/.
They Live in Trees (student documentary short), directed by Jimmy Avery, 2010.
The Skunk Ape Hunter, promotional video, Discovery Channel official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.discovery.com/tv-shows/skunk-ape/video/the-skunk-ape-hunter.htm.
12. The Accidental Werewolf Chronicler
Linda Godfrey, interview with the author by phone, October 23, 2013.
Linda Godfrey, interview with the author at Vasili’s Café and visit to Bray Road, Elkhorn, Wisconsin, April 12, 2014.
Linda S. Godfrey, The Beast of Bray Road: Tailing Wisconsin’s Werewolf (Boulder, CO: Prarie Oak Press, 2003).
Linda S. Godfrey, Real Wolfmen: True Encounters in Modern America (New York: Tarcher, 2012).
Paul G. Zolbrod, Diné Bahane’: The Navajo Creation Story, (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1987).
Navajo Skin-Walkers & Legends (documentary), directed by JC Johnson, 2010.
Chief Dan Talks About Skin Walkers & the Furry Ones, video posted to YouTube by JC Johnson, December 10, 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWOQuf02J3w.
Jeffery Pritchett, “‘Navajo Skinwalkers and Legends’ Interview with JC Johnson of Crypto Four Corners,” Examiner.com, May 4, 2012, www.examiner.com/article/navajo-skinwalkers-and-legends-interview-w-jc-johnson-of-crypto-four-corners.
JC Johnson, interview with the author by phone, August 30, 2014.
Benjamin Radford, interview with the author via Skype, June 16, 2014.
13. Night Visits
John Krahn and Susan Benzine, interview with the author, Colectivo coffee shop in Bay View, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, March 2, 2014.
Linda Spice and Meg Jones, “Heroic Rescue; 2 Hurt,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 25, 2009, www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/45982632.html.
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, “Officer John Krahn,” official website, December 2009, www.nleomf.org/officers/month/otm-archive/december-2009-officer-of-the.html.
Peter Bukowski, “Hero Officer Steps Down Two Years After Train Collision,” Elm Grove Now, June 15, 2011, www.elmgrovenow.com/news/123912484.html.
Emily Eveland, “Q&A with the Demon Doctor, Reverend Michael Schroeder,” Minnesota Daily, October 31, 2013, www.mndaily.com/ae/weekend/2013/10/30/qa-demon-doctor-reverend-michael-schroeder.
Theresa Bane, Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012).
New England Society for Psychic Research, “Warrens Biography,” official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.warrens.net/Warrens-Bio.html.
New England Society for Psychic Research, “Annabelle Story,” official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.warrens.net/Annabelle.html.
Court records came from a search of “Mary’s” name on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website, www.wcca.wicourts.gov.
Investigation of Mary’s apartment, Juneau, Wisconsin, March 22, 2014.
Canary, follow up e-mails with the author, August 4, 2014.
Susan Benzine, follow up e-mails with the author, August 5, 2014.
“Mary,” follow up e-mails with the author, June 28, 2014.
14. The Case of the Haunted Honky-Tonk
Footage of the Carl Lawson exorcism, video posted to YouTube by Doug Hensley, August 31, 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuQzZwCT1eo.
Douglas Hensley, Hell’s Gate: Terror at Bobby Mackey’s Music World (Outskirts Press, 2005).
PIM team meeting, Noah Leigh’s home, West Allis, Wisconsin, August 11, 2013.
“Bobby Mackey’s Music World,” episode of Ghost Adventures, Travel Channel, aired October 17, 2008.
“Return to Bobby Mackey’s,” episode of Ghost Adventures, Travel Channel, aired October 1, 2010.
Father Jack Ashcraft, interview with the author via e-mail, September 4, 2013.
PIM case report #130724 (Bobby Mackey’s Music World, July 24, 2013), www.paranormalmilwaukee.com/cases/bobbymackeys/bobbymackeys.html.
Jann Goldberg, follow-up interview with the author at Fuel Café, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 22, 2014.
PIM team meeting, Noah Leigh’s home, West Allis, Wisconsin, September 12, 2013.
PIM investigation of Bobby Mackey’s Music World, Wilder, Kentucky, September 22–23, 2013.
Wanda Kay Stephenson, Wicked They Walk: The Tour Guide’s Book (self-published, 2013).
Noah Leigh, follow-up interview with the author by phone, March 24, 2014.
Court date for Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier was at the Waukesha County Courthouse on July 2, 2014.
Ellen Gabler, “Charges Detail Waukesha Pre-teens’ Attempt to Kill Classmate,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, June 2, 2014, www.jsonline.com/news/crime/waukesha-police-2-12-year-old-girls-plotted-for-months-to-kill-friend-b99282655z1-261534171.html.
Bruce Vielmetti and Ashley Lutheran, “Judge Rules 12-Year-Old Incompetent, for Now, in Slender Man Trial,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 1, 2014, www.jsonline.com/news/crime/lawyer-for-girl-in-slenderman-case-wants-mental-reports-on-co-defendant-b99319419z1-269441661.html.
Lauren Effron and Kelley Robinson, “Slender Man Stabbing Survivor’s Parents: ‘She’s Meant to Do Something Special,’” ABC News, September 26, 2014, www.abcnews.go.com/US/slender-man-stabbing-survivors-parents-describe-horrific-ordeal/story?id=25787516.
John A. Keel, The Mothman Prophecies (New York: Tor, 2002).
Aaron Sagers, “Slender Man Is Real: From Cultural Conversation to Paranormal Topic,” Huffington Post, June 10, 2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-sagers/slender-man-is-real-from-_b_5481349.html.
Michael Winter, “Judge: Girls Can Stand Trial in ‘Slender Man’ Stabbing,” USA Today, December 18, 2014, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/18/slender-man/20593281/.
Loren Coleman, “The Gun That Almost Brought Bigfoot Down,” CryptoZooNews (blog), June 26, 2014, www.cryptozoonews.com/page-acq/.
Post on Skunk Ape Headquarters Facebook page, July 28, 2014, www.facebook.com/SkunkApeHeadquarters/photos/a.355155497856492.80877.183155941723116/747219478650090.
“Events,” Bob Larson official website, last accessed November 17, 2014, www.boblarson.org/religious-events.
PIM investigation of the Modjeska Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 24, 2014.
Jann Goldberg, follow-up interview with the author at Fuel Café, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 22, 2014.